


blood of the covenant and other things that cause protective instincts

by Winter_Lantern



Series: pthumerian dweller au collection [2]
Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bruises, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Pthumerian Dweller AU, Rare Pairings, Size Difference, Unresolved Romantic Tension, annalise knows what's up, he's fine he just needs to sleep it off, off-screen violence, the dweller is very protective of marion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22092787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winter_Lantern/pseuds/Winter_Lantern
Summary: marion is injured, unconscious, and in need of a long rest to recover from the blood magic he had just performed. the dweller, in an effort to protect the man he's come to care so much about, whisks him off to somewhere deeper in the castle - far enough away that the fighting between the vilebloods and executioners falls silent, and he can safely watch over his healing friend in peace.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Oedon Chapel Dweller
Series: pthumerian dweller au collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1437034
Kudos: 10





	blood of the covenant and other things that cause protective instincts

**Author's Note:**

> takes place during a point in the au where marion and the dweller are visiting cainhurst after escaping the underground city, and the executioners attack the castle. marion ends up having to use his vileblood heritage (aka stabbity self with sword to get super cool blood powers) to protect his home buuut mostly to protect the dweller, and goes into like some kind of healing coma right after the danger has passed. cause ya know. the whole stabbity self thing probs big hurty. 
> 
> also!! the dweller's name in this is cicero!! because my fellow creative buddy who i've developed this au with suggested it and it grew on me!! apologies for any confusion/mixed feelings about that!

The eastern tower was far enough away from the fighting for Cicero to decide it was safe enough for Marion to rest in. The man hadn't once moved since he had been picked up from where he had collapsed onto the ground and his stillness was concerning. Even though Cicero knew that Marion would likely be fine, he couldn't help the horrified pit that had opened up in his stomach once he saw Marion hit the floor, his sword following with a loud clatter among the fallen bodies. He only needed to heal, and he would wake back up when his body decided it was ready to join the waking world once again - but some deeper part of Cicero was still terrified.

Marion had put himself through that process to protect his home - to protect _him_ \- and guilt warred with the protective instinct. So he had lifted the man as gently as he could have and took off, deeper into the castle and father away from the sounds of battle. It had been a long time since he had last seen another living being when he reached the top of this tower and so he decided that here would be a good place to settle down until Marion woke up.

He pulled a few dust covered blankets from a nearby stack of boxes and quickly shook them loose and piled them up on the floor. They covered enough of the stone floor that Marion wouldn't be laying on it, and he laid the man down on their soft surfaces with reverence. If it wasn't for the bloodied transformation and the fierce fighting he had witnessed, Cicero would've thought that Marion was just in a particularly deep sleep for how little he moved. 

That same pit in his stomach widened as a horrible thought filled Cicero's mind - the idea of Marion bloodied on the floor, still as death. He leaned forwards and pressed his ear to Marion's chest and experienced a rush of relief when he heard a heartbeat, slow but strong. Sitting back up, he stared down at Marion with a sad frown crossing his features. Biting his lip, he began unfastening his thick cloak and carefully draped it over Marion's body. He knew that Vileblood's had a higher natural temperature than his own kind, but, well... a little extra warmth wouldn't hurt the man. Not to mention that, in his frantic state, having Marion bundled up in something that had Cicero's scent did ease the Pthumerian's aching heart some.

With care, he began brushing the long stands of hair from Marion's face. With each brush of his hand, more and more of Marion's face was revealed. And it was then that he saw the large bruise that had formed high on Marion's cheek. A low sound of sympathy escaped from deep within Cicero's throat and he brushed his fingers over the spot of darkened flesh. It looked like the kind that would get worse before it got better and thinking about his tiny human's face marred by such a thing made him grit his teeth. There was no telling how many other wounds were scattered over Marion's body and if Cicero could have beared even the thought of leaving Marion's side he would have went back down into the fray below and given the attackers hell. The _idea_ that anyone would even dare put a hand on his human was enough to boil his blood.

Luckily for the people battling the Vilebloods elsewhere, old instincts overpowered raw anger; Cicero knew that he would be staying here by Marion's side. For as long as it took him to wake back up. 

* * *

There was only one last place in Cainhurst that had not been checked for Marion, and when her knights opened the door to reveal the Pthumerian standing guard over her great nephew's unconscious body, Annalise was grateful that it had been her to find them. Especially considering that the Pthumerian was armed and visibly agitated.

Her knights stepped into the room - still giving the larger creature plenty of space - and she followed in behind them. Even that was too much for the Pthumerian it seemed, and she made a note to commend her knights on their bravery when they only barely flinched at the sight of razor sharp teeth coupled with dangerous growls. She watched in silence as the Pthumerian shifted - to partially block Marion from their view, she realized - and gripped his weapons tighter.

Each knight reached for the hilts of their swords, but Annalise spoke up before they could inadvertently escalate the situation. "Stop."

They froze. The Pthumerian's eyes narrowed. And as Annalise took one single step forwards, she was once again grateful that it had been her to stumble upon this scene. So few of her people were alive to remember the last time the Pthumerians had made a pilgrimage to Castle Cainhurst, and likely would not have recognized the behavior they were bearing witness to. "Pthumerian," she began, voice firm but not demanding, "we are not here to take him from you."

"My Lady," one of the knights began, "ah, isn't our purpose here to find Marion and bring him back--"

"Quiet."

The knight shut up.

The Pthumerian's focus was on her now, which she was sure her knights were grateful for. She continued, injecting as much understanding into her tone while still remaining firm as she could. Showing weakness now would only worsen the situation. "We have been concerned for Marion's well-being since he disappeared. We only wish to confirm that he is without serious injury."

The Pthumerian stepped aside, just a bit. Just enough for her to see Marion and know that he was all right. A bit battered, but fine. A sense of relieve pulled the blanket of grief from Annalise's heart.

"He's fine." The Pthumerian's voice, usually so gentle and jittery, was now firm and quiet. "I've made sure of it."

"Then we shall leave him in your capable hands," she said, spreading her hands and inclining her head slightly. "Thank you." She stepped out of the room swiftly, bidding her knights to follow with a sharp wave of her hand. The door closed behind them, and Annalise found herself considering her great nephew until her thoughts were interrupted by a whisper.

"What was that all about?!"

From the hissed words and low tone, Annalise knew that the knight's words were aimed at the other and not her. Still, she answered the question. "Do not be foolish." She didn't need to see the two behind her to know that they were darting away from each other - as if they could pretend she had not heard them. "He was only being protective. Defending someone important to him." Just how important... well, she could keep that to herself. Marion's business was his own and given how the two danced around one another, he likely didn't know of the Pthumerian's feelings. It made her memories of the two's interactions almost amusing. "We will respect his desire to be alone with Marion right now. They will return to use when they are ready."

She barely waited for the knights to respond before she started back down the tower's stairs. Now that she knew Marion's location (and knew that she could trust in his safety) she could focus on the state of the castle and how they would recover. The Executioners were getting braver and it wouldn't be long before they once again found themselves in danger... 

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i hc annalise as one of the oldest vilebloods (if not one of the *first* vilebloods) so really it should be something like "great x10 nephew marion" aha 
> 
> tbh i've come up with a few pthumerian au specific headcanons regarding annalise, pthumerians, and the vilebloods so if you wanna talk about em with me feel free to [hmu](https://lantern-flower.tumblr.com/)!!!


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